Project Maverick
by The Social Heretic
Summary: G.U.N is starting up a new plan to create living weapons. How does Shadow fit into this project? All will be revealed in due time. Rated T for violence and mild language. On indefinite hiatus.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Okay. So I'm sure someone noticed my major screw up with the last post. And if you didn't, all the better! Anyway, it's fixed now, so if you happen to be reading this, reviews and criticism are appreciated. **

**Disclaimer****: Sonic the Hedgehog and all related characters/locations belong to SEGA. I simply wrote the story.**

Project Maverick

Chapter1

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"What was that?" a young man asked his officer.

"It sounded like a sonic boom..." the Captain replied, raising an eyebrow.

"But sir, there are no scheduled flights for this time slot." He said, staring at the computer screen at the desk in front of him.

"Well, that's stra... Argh!" the Captain was cut off.

""Captain?" the young man turned in his chair to see his captain laid out on the floor, unconscious. "What the hell is going on here?" He stood, and quickly made his way out the door. He pulled out a communication device and pressed the button. "This is Private Renning, we have an emergency!" As the doors shut behind him, a pair of red eyes peered angrily through the darkness. There was a flash, and Renning felt something smash into the back of his neck, but he was unconscious before he hit the ground. Standing over him was a black hedgehog, snarling with rage. In his right hand, he tightly clutched a gleaming green gem. He flicked it into the air, and snatched it shouting, "Chaos Control!" In the blink of an eye, he was gone again.

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Meanwhile, deeper in the G.U.N. military base...

"Draining stasis fluid." A man in a white lab coat announced. He pressed a few buttons on the control panel before him, and glanced at a monitor displaying DNA strands. The large tank in the center of the room began to drain, and the figure inside became visible. "Initiating adrenaline injection." The scientist flipped a switch, and there was a gushing sound. The figure in the tank began to quiver and buck, just before releasing a long, dragged out breath. It raised its head, and its yellow eyes flew open. It raised an arm to try and break the glass tube that surrounded it, but its swing was cut short by a glowing blue chain. It growled angrily and stared at the figure approaching.

"It looks just like him, except for the coloration." The man said, narrowing his eyes. The creature in the tube noticed how one eye was amber, while the other was an icy blue. The G.U.N. Commander leaned in closer. It's amazing the information you can get from a person's eyes. He stared intently at the yellow orbs glaring at him through the glass. Unlike the pain and hatred found in the black hedgehog's eyes, he saw nothing. There was no emotion, no feeling. He felt like he was going to be sucked in as if they were a vortex.

"Hello." The man said. The white hedgehog inside the pod simply stared at him. He grinned victoriously. "Welcome to Project Maverick."

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A blue hedgehog sped through the streets of Central City, putting even the fastest cars on the road to shame.

"Aw, man! Amy's gonna kill me if I'm late!" Sonic muttered as he picked up speed. He came upon the highway, and could see the beginnings of the peaceful wooded area he and his friends called home. Amy had finally convinced Sonic to go on a date with her. He wasn't quite sure how, probably because saying yes was the quickest way out. Either way, he was running late, and decided he wasn't in the mood to be chased down by an angry pink hedgehog with a humongous hammer. He saw the bright pink of Amy's house and skidded to a stop inches from her front door. He raised his arm to knock, but before his knuckles contacted the wood, a gloved hand shot out and grabbed him by the ear.

"Sooooniiic! You're late, again!" Amy dragged him in, much to Sonic's dismay.

"Ow, ow, Ames! Let go of my ear!" Sonic yelled. "I can explain! I was at Emerald Beach with Tails and then we..." She cut him off.

"There's no time for your lame excuses. If we hurry we can still make the restaurant before they give our table away." She huffed and grabbed Sonic's hand, pulling him out the door. As they began to walk down the path, Sonic felt something strange stirring in the air. The fur on his neck stood on end, and He quickly glanced around. Amy turned around to see him staring off into space, his eyes detached from reality. She rolled her eyes. "Sonic come on, what's wrong?" Before he could answer, there was a blinding flash and Amy was knocked down.

"Amy!" Sonic was at her side in the twinkling of an eye, and wrapped his arms around her, keeping her safe from whatever had just appeared in front of them. Sonic squinted at the light, trying to pick out the figure kneeling on the ground. He saw the outline of quills, and a faint green glow in its hand. Then he saw the blood- red eyes shoot open. "Is that... Shadow?" He picked Amy up and brushed the dust off of her. He crept slowly toward his old rival, extending a helping hand. "Long time no see, Shadow." Sonic gave a trademark smirk, but his hand was batted away. Shadow picked himself up and stared at the blue hedgehog.

"Where am I?" He said, blinking furiously.

"Just outside Central City. What happened? It had to something big, for the Ultimate Lifeform to have to resort to using Chaos Control." Sonic smirked, trying to get the angry scowl off the black hedgehog's face, but to no avail.

"I... I was captured by G.U.N." Shadow said, looking into the distance as if trying to remember. "They kept me in a cell for a long time, and they kept taking blood tests. I have no idea why, but they kept talking about 'Project Maverick'. I spent weeks waiting for the right moment to escape, and... hnn!" Shadow winced and dropped to one knee. That's when the three hedgehogs noticed the pool of red at Shadow's feet.

"Oh my gosh, Shadow!" Amy ran over to him and tried to help him to his feet, but when he cried out she realized she had stuck her hand on a bullet wound in his side. "Shadow! I'm so sorry..." Amy said, tears forming in her eyes. She hated seeing anyone in this much pain.

"No, I'm fine." Shadow growled, fighting the pain ad pushing himself to his feet.

"C'mon Shadow," Sonic said, wrapping an arm over Shadow's back. "Let's get you inside." He supported most of the black hedgehog's weight as they stumbled into Amy's living room. She quickly took off to the bathroom and returned with bandages to wrap up his side.

"Well, at least there's an exit wound, which means we don't have to go fishing the bullet out of your ribs." Amy said as she began to wrap the bandages. "Now, you just lie there until we can get hold of a doctor."

"I appreciate your concern, but there's somewhere I need to go." He said, straining himself to stand.

"But Shadow, you're not well enough," Amy said, with deep concern in her voice. "You can't..." She trailed off as he raised a finger.

"I'm fine. I assure you." He replied as he started to walk to the door.

"Shadow..." Sonic spoke up. "Be careful." He gave a half- hearted thumbs- up and a weak looking smile.

"Caution is for the weak." Shadow smirked. He grabbed his Chaos Emerald off the table, turned the doorknob, and stepped outside.

"Where do you have to be that's so important you're still going with a bullet hole in your side?" Sonic smiled and raised an eyebrow.

"As close of friends as we are," Shadow began sarcastically, "I've got other friends that are probably wondering where I've been for the last six weeks."

"Shadow? Friends? Hah, never thought I'd see the day." Sonic grinned. Shadow merely chuckled to himself and closed the door behind him. He took off into a run/skate, feeling the throbbing in his ribs with every movement of his legs.

"You better appreciate this," Shadow muttered to himself as he shot down the street. "I'm coming Rouge."

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	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Heaven forbid someone actually reviews. Pch. Anyway, here's another chapter. Sorry for the wait. Tragedy decided to strike.**

**Disclaimer:**** Sonic the Hedgehog is copyright of SEGA. Not me.**

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Rouge grunted softly as she stretched her wings from the nap she had just awoken from. She blinked the remnants of sleep from her eyes and walked from her old couch to the large window overlooking the city. The sun was just beginning to dip below the skyline of Central City. The red light of the fading daylight caused Rouge's thoughts to drift, stirring memories she had buried long ago. Her subconscious flashed back to three years ago, during the fiasco on Prison Island.

She had given up all sense of hope and had resigned to her fate to be blown to pieces in a G.U.N. vault, desperately clutching the gems that she so dearly loved. Those damned Chaos Emeralds were the cause of the whole mess. If it weren't for them, she would never have gotten involved with Eggman's schemes and never have been trapped inside the vault. But of course there was always a bright side. Just as she had shut her eyes, awaiting the fiery explosion, she felt herself being snatched up, followed by a jolt of motion sickness. She opened her eyes to find herself in the strong embrace of...

"Shadow..." Rouge's tone ended sadly. This wasn't something she had wanted to think about. She shook her head in an attempt to remove him from her thoughts, but to no avail. He'd been on her mind for a long time now. It had been almost a year since she'd last seen his face and heard his voice. Rouge constantly tried to convince herself he didn't matter. She was nothing but an ally to him. Just someone to come to when he was in trouble. It hurt. But she'd never let anyone know that. She was a thief. Feelings would only get her killed. She was above petty things like love.

At least that's what she kept telling herself.

The bat turned away from the window and wiped a tear from her eye. Her ear suddenly twitched. There was a shuffling sound coming from the darkest corner of the room. Her instincts put her into a low standing combat ready position, and she barked, "Who's there?"

Then she noticed the pair of piercing red eyes peering through the dim room.

"Sha- Shadow?" Rouge slowly returned to a normal standing position and flicked the light switch. There was the black hedgehog, leaning against the wall, donning the smug little smirk she learned to interpret as amusement.

"... Rouge." Shadow pushed himself off of the wall and took two long, steady strides. Rouge couldn't contain the joyful grin from showing on her face.

"It's been a while, Shadow." Rouge started, her voice faltered ever so slightly. "I... I missed you." She stretched out her arms to wrap them around his waist, but he gently grasped her wrists before she made contact. Her heart panged at his refusal of her touch, but she quickly realized why. The bandages wrapped tightly around his side had a deep, growing red stain in the center. "Shadow, what happened?!" Rouge cried. She quickly gulped down the sob that was trying to crawl up her throat.

"It's a long story," Shadow mumbled, peeling off a bandage. "Mind giving me a hand?" He looked into her eyes. He hated to see so much pain in those gorgeous blue pools; they reminded him so much of Maria...

"-dow? Shadow?! Are you okay?" Rouge laid her hands on his cheeks and stared into his eyes.

"Uh, yeah. Sorry." Shadow mentally cursed himself for showing weakness like that.

"Come on, I'll change your bandages in the bathroom." She gingerly took hold of his hand and led him to the bathroom. "Now, sit." He perched on the toilet seat and raised his arms as Rouge went to work on the bandages. It was then, as he watched her work, he noticed her new hairstyle. She had let it grow out and swept it to the side over her right eye. In Shadow's opinion, it was cute.

His eyebrows furrowed. 'When did I start thinking of anything as cute? I must be delusional from blood loss.' Shadow thought.

"Alright." Rouge said as she tied the last bandage into a neat knot. "Mind telling exactly what happened?" She placed a hand on her hip and looked at him expectantly.

"Get comfortable." Shadow said as he stood to walk out of the room. He slowly lowered himself onto a chair next to a small table in the corner of Rouge's apartment. She sat crossed-legged on the edge of her bed. "It started about a year ago..."

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**A/N: This is chapter 2. It's kinda short compared to the first chapter, but I'll try to get into a consistent length. Reviews would be greatly appreciated. Thanks go out to all those who read this.**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Hey. I'm back with a new chapter. I've been super busy these last few months, and I've had hardly any time to breathe, let alone write. **

**So the first part of the chapter that's all in italics, that's Shadow flashback and is in the first person P.O.V. It picks up right where chapter 2 ended. Just clearing that up so no one gets confused. Enjoy. :)**

**Disclaimer:**** I do not own Sonic the Hedgehog or any related characters, locations, etc.**

_I was walking through Central City on my way to my apartment. It was all normal; I walked up the stairs, unlocked my door, and stepped inside. I went to the bathroom to wash my face, when I heard the window shatter. I ran into the room just to hear a loud bang followed by a blinding flash and a vicious ringing in my ears. I fell on the floor and saw through my blurred vision a squad of G.U.N. soldiers storming in the door. I tried to get up and fight them off, but the flashbang had really screwed up my senses. I managed to kick one of them in the face, but they quickly overpowered me. I remember one of them raising rifle and bringing it down hard on my head. _

_When I woke up I was chained to an operating table. There was a guy in a lab coat bent over a nearby table preparing a syringe. He turned around and looked at me, and before I knew what going on, he stabbed the needle in my chest. It hurt like hell, but it didn't last long. He took a sample of my blood to the table and returned with a mask. He put it over my face, and I was out in a matter of seconds._

_They had me placed in a high security cell. So I spent the next eleven months like a prisoner. I ate when instructed, and slept when the lights were turned out. They would occasionally bring me back to that lab for more tests. Of course, I tried to break out several times through brute strength, but nothing ever came of it. Then I overheard them talking about moving some of the equipment in the evidence room. _

_I knew this was my chance to get my air shoes and my Chaos Emerald back. So on the day that day, when they opened my cell for lunch, I ran out as fast as my legs could carry me. Luckily the door to the evidence locker was open and I slipped in as bullets rang off the walls in the corridor. I grabbed my stuff and waited for them to come in. They didn't stand a chance; took them all out in a matter of seconds._

_The alarm sounded and I knew I didn't have much time. I ran out the door and up the stairs. I burst through the door to some kind of control room. After I took out the guys inside, I used my emerald to warp out of there. I appeared in the forest, with Sonic and that pink girl that's always stuck to him. She bandaged me up and I came to find you right away..._

Shadow tore his gaze away from the window he'd been staring at to glance up at the bat now coming out of the kitchen. In her hands were steaming mugs.

"I don't know how you do it Shadow." Rouge said. "Few people have confronted G.U.N. single-handedly and survived."

"That's why I'm the..."

"Ultimate Lifeform. Yeah, yeah. I already know that." Rouge stated, rolling her eyes. "So do you know why they would've captured you in the first place?"

"Not a clue." Shadow mumbled, sipping his coffee. "But the fact that they have my DNA is a little unnerving." Rouge furrowed her brow.

"Mmm, your genetics have certainly caused us trouble in the past." She said, smiling teasingly. She wrapped her fingers around the warm mug, letting the heat flow into her hands. "So what do you plan on doing about this?"

"I need to know what they have in mind. Messing with my DNA could be catastrophic." Shadow frowned. "I need to do some intelligence work; at least get some idea about what's going on."

"No problem, sugar. I can get my hands on anything. Infiltration and stealth is my world." Rouge smirked confidently. "Where do I start?"

"I thought you worked for G.U.N.?" Shadow raised an eyebrow. "Why would you help me with this?"

"Eh, I quit." Rouge chuckled gently. "Being ordered around was getting pretty annoying. Not to mention all those missions were really hampering with my thieving career. You know I went three whole months without stealing even a single jewel for myself. I was going into withdrawal!" Rouge faked a swoon and grinned.

Shadow smirked at this. The girl certainly did have an eye for valuables. He should've known she wouldn't be able to work with the law for long. "Good. There's no one else I trust enough to have as my partner."

"Glad to be of service." She said with a nod. Shadow extended his hand, but Rouge pushed it aside and wrapped her arms around him. Shadow's cheeks turned the faintest shade of pink at the contact, and he gave her a slight squeeze back.

"And I'm so glad you're back." Rouge smiled sweetly at the black hedgehog.

"Hmm. Me too." Shadow whispered.

**A/N: Chapter 3. Hope you liked it. :) Hoping to have the next one up soon, probably sometime this week. Thank you to all the readers!**


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